12 Best Anime Like One Piece

Nothing really replaces One Piece — that's the honest opening. No other series combines a 25-year mystery box, a crew you'd die for and an author who plants payoffs decades early. But specific parts of the One Piece experience live in other shows, and that's how this list is built: each pick is matched to a particular thing you love about Luffy's voyage — the found family, the escalating world, the freedom-versus-tyranny theme, the sheer length you can live inside — so you can choose by what you actually miss.

All 12 recommendations at a glance

#	Anime	What it shares with One Piece
1	Hunter x Hunter	Adventure, exams, a world with rules
2	Fairy Tail	Guild = crew; loyalty above everything
3	Naruto Shippuden	Era-defining scale and dreams
4	Gintama	Odd-jobs crew, comedy hiding heart
5	Vinland Saga	Seafaring epic, freedom as the goal
6	The Seven Deadly Sins	Scattered legendary crew reunites
7	Black Clover	Squad warmth, impossible dream
8	Dragon Ball	Oda's own biggest influence
9	Tower of God	Climb-the-world structure, betrayals
10	Dr. Stone	Crew-building, exploration, optimism
11	Bleach	Big Three energy, rescue arcs
12	Mashle	Absurd hero breaking a rigged system

1. Hunter x Hunter — the best-written adventure in the genre

Gon's search for his absent father is Luffy's voyage with the wonder intact and the writing tightened: exotic locales, auction heists, a tournament that's secretly a mind game, and the Nen power system whose rules make Devil Fruits look improvised (our Nen explainer vs our Devil Fruits guide — compare for yourself). Gon and Killua's friendship carries Luffy-and-crew warmth, and the Chimera Ant arc reaches emotional territory even One Piece rarely visits. 148 episodes, no filler.

2. Fairy Tail — the crew-as-family pick

If Marineford's "no one gets left behind" energy is what you miss, Fairy Tail is 328 episodes of exactly that. The guild functions as the Straw Hats scaled up: rowdy, ridiculous, and instantly at war when one member is threatened. Mashima openly writes in Oda's tradition — ensemble bonds first, escalating raid arcs second. It's less disciplined than One Piece, but nothing on this list replicates the found-family feeling closer. Full sequencing in the Fairy Tail watch order.

3. Naruto Shippuden — the other ocean

The other defining epic of the same generation: a loud orphan announces an impossible dream and drags the world into believing it. Naruto trades islands for villages and Devil Fruits for chakra (explainer), but the long-haul structure — hundreds of episodes, war-scale finales, a rival storyline with real heartbreak — matches One Piece's weight class like nothing else. Use the watch order to dodge filler.

4. Gintama — the Straw Hat spirit in a broke samurai

Gintoki's odd-jobs trio has exact Straw Hat chemistry: chaotic freeloaders who become the most loyal people alive when it counts. Gintama is ostensibly a parody comedy — it will mock One Piece to your face — but its serious arcs land among the genre's best. The pick for viewers who miss the Straw Hats' downtime as much as the battles.

5. Vinland Saga — the serious seafaring epic

Vikings instead of pirates, and "freedom" asked as a real question rather than shouted as a slogan. Thorfinn's journey from revenge-driven child soldier to a man searching for a land without war is heavier than anything in One Piece, but the maritime adventure DNA and the theme — what does it mean to be free on the sea? — are siblings. Our Vinland Saga characters guide introduces the cast.

6. The Seven Deadly Sins — the legendary crew reassembles

A princess searches for a disbanded order of legendary (and legendarily weird) knights — effectively starting the story where One Piece would end it, with the crew already mythical. Early seasons deliver great ensemble adventure in the Oda mould. Quality dips later (we're honest about which seasons in the watch order), but the crew chemistry is the real thing.

7. Black Clover — the dream, restated

"I'll be Wizard King" is "I'll be Pirate King" with a grimoire, and the Black Bulls are the Straw Hats as a magic squad: misfits, a rowdy base, absolute loyalty. The final third's fights are elite. Start here if you want the One Piece feeling in a completed, filler-free 170 episodes — watch order here.

8. Dragon Ball — where Oda learned it

Oda has said flatly that One Piece exists because of Dragon Ball. Goku's early journeys have the same picaresque wonder as East Blue: weird islands, weirder friends, a treasure hunt (Dragon Balls = One Piece). Watching it is genealogy — see the Dragon Ball watch order for the canon path.

9–12. Tower of God, Dr. Stone, Bleach, Mashle

Tower of God restructures the "advance through an endless world" hook as a literal tower climb, with alliances and betrayals One Piece saves for its biggest arcs. Dr. Stone is crew-building optimism — recruiting specialists one by one to revive civilisation, Franky-and-Usopp energy as an entire show. Bleach supplies the Big Three rescue-arc structure at its very best in Soul Society (watch order). Mashle is the comedy pick: a kid with zero magic muscles his way through a rigged elite world with exactly Luffy's unbothered audacity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What anime is most similar to One Piece?

Hunter x Hunter for overall quality of adventure; Fairy Tail for the found-family crew feeling. Which one to pick depends on which half of One Piece you miss more.

Is there any anime as long as One Piece?

Very few. Naruto + Shippuden (~720 episodes) and Fairy Tail (~328) are the closest long-haul epics on this list; One Piece itself has passed 1,100 episodes — our filler list trims it.

What should I watch while waiting for new One Piece episodes?

Something completed: Hunter x Hunter (2011), Black Clover or Vinland Saga's available seasons all finish their stories or arcs cleanly.

Is Vinland Saga really like One Piece?

Thematically, yes — ships, crews and freedom — but played as historical drama, not adventure comedy. It's the pick for older viewers or anyone curious what "pirate anime for adults" looks like.